First Amendment supporters have a new ally in Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow after the campus president faced a crowd of rambunctious protesters last week.
Bacow was scheduled to talk about the role of higher education in expanding economic opportunity alongside Graduate School of Education Dean Bridget Terry Long, but approximately 30 protesters stormed the stage at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, shouting about divesting the university’s $400 million budget from fossil fuels and for-profit prisons. The protesters were so loud that the event could not take place. Bacow had to move to a classroom to speak to a smaller group that followed him there.
Shortly after, Bacow published an op-ed in the Harvard Crimson.
In his op-ed he wrote: “The heckler’s veto has no place at Harvard. When we shut down conversation, when we shut down debate, we shut down the opportunity to learn through reasoned discourse. … What kind of community do we want to be?”
It’s worth noting Bacow has renewed his commitment to free speech and diversity of thought after he himself suffered from out-of-control protesters. Multiple instances of bias, speech suppression, and control over association have occurred at Harvard with little comment from Bacow.
Just recently, a coalition of fraternities and sororities sued Harvard for barring members of same-sex clubs from holding leadership positions on campus or being captains of sports teams. Harvard is also in court defending itself against claims that they discriminate against Asians in their admissions process. The school also faced backlash when nearly a dozen high school students had their Harvard offers rescinded after sharing memes in a private chat.
These are just a few examples of Harvard’s disingenuous commitment to free speech. So, will Bacow change his tune and fix his institution, or is he just upset his speech was shut down?
Alexander James is a contributor to Red Alert Politics and a freelance journalist.
